I'm pretty sure in the south it's a sin to change your grandmother's pimento cheese recipe. This is especially true when your grandmother is like mine and incredibly particular about the way she makes pimento cheese. She uses Duke's Mayonnaise, Cracker Barrel Sharp Cheddar Cheese and diced pimentos. In her world, don't even think about subbing in Hellmann's or low-fat mayo. She also would never understand why someone would use another cheese when Cracker Barrel is so delicious.

So, it is with slight shame that I offer my sincerest apologies to my grandmother...I altered the family recipe. 

In an attempt to keep the most important elements of the recipe I still use the Cracker Barrel Sharp Cheddar, Duke's and pimentos. I see no reason to change that since I, too, seem to be very particular about my pimento cheese ingredients. I just enhanced the original recipe a bit by adding sharp white cheddar, cream cheese and a dash of cayenne pepper. Cream cheese adds a level of creaminess (shockingly) that makes it even more wonderful with crackers or grilled on sandwiches. You don't need too much since the mayo is also in there, but even a little bit makes a noticeable difference in flavor. I've used the plain and cracked pepper sharp white cheddar varieties. If you like pepper you will love the cracked pepper, but you can go ahead and omit the extra that is in the original recipe. The cayenne gives it an extra little kick to complement the creaminess of the cheeses. 

For those of you not from the south, you may think adding mayo to shredded cheese is disgusting. My brother and I don't like mayonnaise on its own, and my grandmother once compared that to not liking cheese (not at all comparable). I still don't like mayo by itself, but I do like mayo and cheese. How's that for compromise?

This is top notch pimento cheese. You will probably have to pry yourself away from it. I can't count the times that I've finished off a batch of pimento cheese with a few friends only to then have it sink in that there are two whole blocks of cheese in there. Whoops. I've also included this recipe in my Breakfast Sandwiches post, but I felt it deserved its own space here.

Enjoy!

Homemade Pimento Cheese

Makes a full serving, feel free to cut this amount in half

2 8-ounce blocks Cracker Barrel Cheese, one Sharp White Cheddar, one Sharp Cheddar, grated
2 heaping tablespoons diced pimentos (not sliced!)
1 to 2 ounces cream cheese, softened*
1/2 cup Duke's mayo
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Grate the sharp white cheddar and sharp yellow cheddar cheeses together in a bowl. Do not buy pre-grated cheese, as these cheeses come with a waxy coating on the outside and will not melt as well (or taste as good). Throw remaining ingredients into bowl, and blend gently with a spatula, forks, spoons, or whatever you have on hand until completely incorporated. Store in the refrigerator, and remove at least 15 minutes before you are ready to serve. Pimento cheese is delicious on crackers, veggies, burgers, sandwiches, pretzels, etc. (yes, basically everything).

*Adjust amount of cream cheese and mayonnaise to suit your personal preference. If you prefer a creamier and tangier cheese use slighly less mayo and 2 ounces cream cheese.

Time for another English dessert! Banoffee pie. According to the internet, the inspiration for banoffee pie came from an American dessert, but the pie as we know it today was created in Sussex. Apparently when the US heard wind of this incredible pie, we began serving it in our restaurants and selling it in grocery stores, and we said it was an American pie. Hah! Silly, America. We lost that argument, but I can absolutely see why we'd want to take credit for this pie. It's delicious. If banana pudding was made into a pie and doused in caramel, I imagine it would taste something like banoffee pie. (banoffee=banana + toffee)

The recipe I used has a few ingredients that aren't so easy to find in American grocery stores. As I've mentioned, I'm still upset about our lack of "double cream" over here in the US, but heavy whipping cream will work instead. You can tell in the top picture how the double cream produces an almost meringue-like sheen. Amazing. If anyone knows where I can find this in the US please let me know.

Digestives are available at some US grocery stores, but if you can't find them, plain graham crackers will do. Digestives taste to me like a less flavorful mix between Biscoff cookies and graham crackers. I realize that doesn't sound appetizing, but I enjoy them. The use of store-bought dulce de leche instead of homemade will save you time and trouble. I have no idea why it is necessary to add more butter and brown sugar to the dulce de leche (aka caramel) in this recipe, but I don't ask questions when I know the results will be incredibly delicious. Is this pie good for you? No. Is it incredible and simple? Yes. Cheers to you and your delicious Banoffee Pie, Britain!

Banoffee Pie
Recipe from The Guardian (adapted slightly for substitutions)
 

Base
225g (8oz) digestive biscuits
100g (3.5oz) pecans
125g (1 stick/8 tbs) salted butter, melted

Filling
125g (1 stick/8 tbs) salted butter, diced
100g soft brown sugar
400g dulce de leche or caramel
½ tsp salt

Topping
60g (2 oz) pecans*
15g (3tbs) icing sugar or confectioners sugar
4-5 ripe bananas
Squeeze of lemon juice
275ml (1 1/4 cups)  double cream or heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp coffee granules

*Note: I skipped the addition of candied pecans on top for lack of time, but I recommend adding them if you have a few minutes to spare. I think they'd make this recipe even more delicious.

Pulse the biscuits to crumbs in a food processor until finely crumbled. Stir together biscuit crumbs, roughly chopped pecans and melted butter until completely blended. Press the mixture into a 23cm (10-inch) loose-bottomed tart tin/springform pan to line the base and sides. Chill while you make the filling.

Melt the butter and sugar together in a pan, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the dulce de leche and the salt and bring to the boil, stirring constantly until smooth. Pour over the base, and chill for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), line a baking tray and rinse and drain the pecans. Put into a bowl and sprinkle with the icing sugar, then spread out on to the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, shaking occasionally. Allow to cool. (The pie can be made up to this point up to 48 hours in advance.)
Thinly slice the bananas and toss with the lemon juice. Arrange on top of the cooled caramel in concentric circles.

Whip the cream and the coffee granules into soft peaks and spread on top of the bananas. Arrange the candied pecans on top and serve.

 

Every time I want to make an easy dessert for a fancy dinner I immediately think of some sort of meringue pavlova or trifle. I get excited because in my mind, it takes almost zero hands-on time to make meringues and throw some fruit on. But then every time, without fail, I realize I don’t have time to let the meringues dry out.

In the south where the humidity in the kitchen is often almost as bad as it is outside, I almost never attempt to make them outside of Winter. I usually buy them from the store. They’re still beautiful and impressive looking, and you don’t have to reserve your oven for hours on end.

Individual trifles or anything with meringues will fancy up any dessert tray. I made these while I was in England because they sell custard in the grocery stores. It’s probably a good thing US stores don’t sell pre-made custard because I honestly would eat it on everything. It’s deliciously rich on its own, and mixed with the cream cheese it gets a smooth cream cheese flavor as well. If you live in England and can buy pre-made custard, this recipe is a breeze. Not to fear for those everywhere else though, you can make homemade custard which is also delicious. If you're really pressed for time, you can sacrifice a bit of the flavor (though it will still be great) and make it with instant vanilla pudding.

The original recipe calls for raspberries and Cointreau. A true trifle is made with Cointreau, but if you want to leave it out that’s fine. You can also sub in sliced strawberries for the raspberries. I prefer raspberries, but the pictures show the strawberry ones I made. As for whether to use meringue nests, like I've shown in the pictures, or glasses with a more traditional trifle look, that's up to you. Individual glasses allows you to add more custard and it's likely the cheaper option. I think Nests are just as pretty and are easier to serve if you're short on glasses. I doubled the recipe both times I made these because I was feeding a crowd. I used glasses once and nests once.

At the end of the day, this is really me suggesting that you all give trifle-making a try when you want to impress people. I’ve had them with custard, ice cream, cool whip, homemade whipped cream, etc. The layering piece is up to you, but I strongly suggest this custard because it is heavenly!

Enjoy!

Strawberry or Raspberry Meringue Trifle
Recipe slightly adapted from Taste AU

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups-2 cups Raspberries (2 x 125g punnets raspberries)
• 2 tbs Cointreau liqueur (optional)
• 55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
• 8-ounces cream cheese (250g)at room temperature
• 1 cup (250ml) bought vanilla custard* 
• Meringues, coarsely crushed

* If you live in places, like the US, that do not sell custard in grocery stores, you can do one of two things. The ideal thing is to make homemade custard. I've included a recipe below. If you're not up for this, follow the direction on a box of Instant Vanilla pudding. Once pudding is ready and chilled, proceed to the cream cheese step.

Directions:

1. Combine the raspberries, Cointreau and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a bowl. Set aside for 30 minutes to macerate.
2. Step 2
   Meanwhile, use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese, custard and remaining sugar in a bowl until smooth.
3. Step 3
   Divide three-quarters of the raspberry mixture among six 250ml (1-cup) capacity serving glasses. Top with the cream cheese mixture and meringue. Top with the remaining raspberry mixture. 
   If you are making meringue nests instead of trifles, fill each nest with a teaspoon of raspberry mixture (depending on the size of the nest). Next, add 2+ teaspoons custard mixture, making sure the custard incorporates into the raspberries. Think of it like making sure the ice cream gets to the bottom of an ice cream cone. Top each nest with another teaspoon or two of berries. Sprinkle crushed meringues on top for decoration.

Jamie Oliver's Proper English Custard
Recipe from Jamie Oliver (on My Kitchen from Scratch)

Ingredients (yields about 8 cups/2 L)

• 2 cups (500 ml) whole milk
• 2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
• 6 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, scored lengthways
• 8 large egg yolks

Method:

1. Mix cream, milk, and four tablespoons of sugar in a pot under medium low heat.
2. Scrap out all the seeds in the vanilla bean into the pot. Put the beans in the pot as well. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon until it boils and then turn off the heat. Let it sit for a few minutes to let the vanilla infuse with the cream and milk mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks with 2 tablespoons of sugar until pale yellow in colour.
4. Remove the beans from the pot and slowly add one ladle of the cream mixture to the yolks while whisking them together. Keep whisking and slowly add a couple more ladles. This process is called tempering and this will ensure that the eggs won’t curdle when they come in contact with hot liquids.
5. Pour the yolk mixture back to the pot with cream and milk and stir with a wooden spoon under medium heat. As the eggs cook, the custard will thicken in several minutes. It is thick enough if it coats the back of the wooden spoon. When it’s nice and shiny, remove from heat and pour into a serving cup. You can serve it hot or cold.

 

My sister-in-law took this picture of the trifle in glasses. All we had on hand for 12 people were wine glasses, so we made those work.

I think everyone needs a few easy snack-sized desserts in their repertoire. This recipe is my new favorite, and I'm almost positive it'll be yours as well. 

Salty and sweet is the perfect combination. Two mini pretzels sandwiching a peanut butter/brown sugar/powdered sugar mixture and dipped in chocolate. It's the ideal manifestation of salty and sweet, and you literally have to pry yourself away from them. It doesn't help that they are bite sized. Seriously, they are too good.

I first made these a week and a half ago and I've made them three times since then. I just made another batch tonight and doubled it, so I guess that's four. I've been in England for the past week where apparently it's not so easy to find pretzels. I had to search three different grocery stores for them. Another interesting thing I've observed in England--none of the chocolate seems to be sold in bulk. I've had to either buy chocolate bars to melt down or 100g bags of chocolate chips (about a cup).  I usually work from a Costco sized bag of chocolate chips, so 100g bags seem a bit absurd, but then again, I guess a 72oz bag is even more absurd.

Another great thing about this recipe is that it is incredibly easy. The sandwiches require zero baking and zero baking skill. My apologies to your summer diets, but you're welcome for all the people who will love you for bringing these to cookouts, potlucks, etc. I have no idea who to give credit to for this amazing recipe because it's all over the internet, but whoever came up with this was a genius.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches

Makes 45-55

1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter

2 Tablespoons Softened Butter (unsalted or salted) 

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 Cups Semisweet Chocolate (dark, milk, or bittersweet work as well!)

One Bag Salted Pretzels 

1. Beat the peanut butter and butter until smooth and creamy.

2. Add the brown sugar, powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.

3. Roll peanut butter mixture between your hands into tablespoon balls (approximately...or roughly the size of a cherry), and sandwich between two pretzels. Place all pb sandwiches on a plate in the freezer for roughly 20 minutes.

4. While pretzels are in the freezer, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or a double boiler until smooth and melted.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Remove pretzels from the freezer, and dip half of each sandwich into the melted chocolate. Place on parchment. If you want to decorate them with mini chocolate chips do it right after dipping so that the chocolate hasn't had a chance to harden. Chocolate drizzle also looks nice over the dipped side.  Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. If you want to speed up the hardening process put the pretzels in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.

Of all the sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches are my favorite. There's something comforting about taking everything that's great about breakfast and putting it in between two pieces of buttered bread. It's also possible I find it comforting because I grew up eating breakfast sandwiches on Sunday after church. My mom is the queen of the fried egg sandwich. I guess I have her to thank for the fact that I find plain eggs and bacon boring and unsatisfying. At least these things are acceptable in North Carolina.

You can really do whatever you'd like with a breakfast sandwich. Be as creative or as simple as you'd like. Change up the choice of bread. Use ham instead of bacon. Spread cream cheese on the bread instead of adding a slice of regular cheese (I promise this is amazing). This seems like a pointless recipe to put up because it's so simple, but I've realized that a shockingly large number of people haven't been clued in on the sheer joy that comes from a good breakfast sandwich. So, I am posting two variations.

The variation I want to explain first is the Pimento Cheese, Egg and Bacon Breakfast sandwich. There are few, and I mean very few, things in the world that are better than a grilled pimento cheese sandwich. If you're not from the south, I'm sure this is a completely foreign concept to you and that's ok.

You may agree with me that the trick to a great, gooey grilled cheese sandwich is hand shredded cheese and adding a small layer of mayo to the inside of the bread.  Well, the same thing goes for using homemade pimento cheese in your egg sandwich. I combined this with soft scrambled eggs and bacon which results in a blending of flavors that is seriously out of this world. You start out with spreading the pimento cheese on the unbuttered side of a slice of bread, and once your eggs are done, you spread them over the pimento cheese, add a few slices of bacon on top and then sandwich it with the other piece of bread and grill it in the pan. Putting it back in the pan is essential, as it gives you the good buttery crunch and it also melts the ingredients together.

The second sandwich I've shown is much simpler, and it's my go to since sadly I do not always have homemade pimento cheese around. I sometimes leave out the bacon or the ham if I'm out of those ingredients. The pan I used was pretty bad, so the egg stuck too much to make it a perfect over medium fried egg, but my suggestion is to do it over easy if you're up for the mess or over medium. You can either use egg, mustard and cheese (with or without meat), or do egg and cream cheese (with or without bacon). I'm always rushing in the mornings, so if I have time to fry up a quick egg sandwich I promise you do too!

Enjoy!

Homemade Pimento Cheese*
Makes a full serving, feel free to cut this amount in half

2 10-ounce blocks Cracker Barrel Cheese, one Sharp White Cheddar, one Sharp Cheddar, grated
2 heaping tablespoons diced pimentos (not sliced!)
1 to 2 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup Duke's Mayo
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Grate the sharp white cheddar and sharp yellow cheddar cheeses together in a bowl. Do not buy pre-grated cheese, as these cheeses come with a waxy coating on the outside and will not melt as well (or taste as good). Throw remaining ingredients into bowl, and blend gently with a spatula, forks, spoons, or whatever you have on hand. Keep refrigerated until ready to use. Leftover pimento cheese is delicious on crackers, veggies, burgers, sandwiches, pretzels, etc.

*Adjust amount of cream cheese and mayonnaise to suit your personal preference. If you prefer a creamier and tangier cheese use slighly less mayo and 2 ounces cream cheese.

Grilled Pimento Cheese, Bacon and Egg Sandwich
Makes 1 sandwich (double, triple, quadruple as needed)

2 pieces cooked bacon
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
2 slices sourdough bread
1/8 cup pimento cheese
Salt and pepper for taste
Butter for the bread

Cook bacon in pan or in oven until crispy. Spread one side of each piece of bread lightly with softened butter. On the non-buttered side of one slide, spread a generous layer of pimento cheese, it should be about a 1/2-inch thick. Break bacon slices in half an set on top of pimento cheese. You can also crumble the bacon on top if you want to make sure to have it in every bite (or bacon lattice it if it's that kind of a day!).

In a nonstick skillet, melt a small amount of butter. Whisk eggs and milk with a fork until combined, then add a dash of salt and pepper. Pour into pan over medium-low heat. Stir with a heatproof spatula until small curds begin to form, increase heat to medium high. Begin to fold the eggs over themselves until they are still soft, but fully cooked and no liquid remains. This will happen VERY quickly, so make sure not to overcook. Remove eggs immediately and place on top of the pimento cheese and bacon slice of bread. The key is to start with a pan that is the right temperature and not take your eyes off of the eggs while cooking. This will give you a flavorful, soft scrambled egg.

Place the remaining slice of bread on top, butter side up, and add to the pan over medium heat. Slightly press down to make sure the ingredients come together without compressing them too much. Flip once sides are lightly brown. Cut in half and enjoy! Keep napkins nearby.

*Note: To make a fried egg sandwhich, everything is the same except for you spread a thin layer of mustard on the bread instead of pimento cheese. Then you can top with your choice of cheese, bacon or ham, and a fried egg. Throw in a pan and lightly brown on each side. This works well with the soft scrambled eggs, too, but I wouldn't recommend swapping fried for scrambled on the pimento cheese version.

Any dessert that combines peanut butter, chocolate and cream cheese is probably going to be a winner in my book. I also love the Reese's minis. I'm on a kick where I try to incorporate them into as many recipes as possible. Whoever had the idea to make the "minis" line of chocolate candy was onto something. Most people would've stopped at the Reese's miniature cups, but then someone said, how about we make them even smaller and just call them minis!? At least that's how I imagine that happening. Who knew that mini and miniature could be different. I'm not ashamed to admit I looked at the Reese's website to see if there were any other Reese's varieties I was missing out on. I guess this is what my life has come to.

These Peanut Butter Cup Pretzel Cheesecake Bars incorporate all of my favorite things. The pretzel crust is also a great spin on some of the other cheesecake bars I've made before. It comes together very easily, especially if you have a Magic Bullet or some blender of that sort to grind up the pretzels. I feel like sometimes in recipes that call for an 8x8 or 9x9 pan there's barely enough to share, but because these are so rich they can be cut into smaller pieces. I brought some to my office and shared some with friends. Great reviews all around!

Peanut Butter Cup Pretzel Cheesecake Bars
Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction

Sally's notes: Baking a cheesecake as bars is so much easier! This recipe makes 16 cheesecake bars.
Store bars in a covered container for up to 10 days in the refrigerator. Recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9x13-inch pan, baking time will vary - about 45-55 minutes.

Ingredients

Pretzel Crust
• 1 and 1/2 cups (120 grams) very finely ground salty pretzels (about 3 cups whole pretzels)
• 3 Tablespoons (35 grams) granulated sugar
• 7 Tablespoons (100 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Filling
• 16 ounces (448 grams) cream cheese, softened to room temperature (not fat free)
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (125 grams) creamy peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 10 regular sized Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped (or 30 minis) 
Chocolate Drizzle
• 1 Tablespoon (15 grams) creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup (45 grams) chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line bottom and sides of an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Set aside.
2. For the crust: In a food processor or blender, pulse salty pretzels into a fine crumb. See photo above for how it will look. Stir the pretzel crumbs, sugar, and melted butter together in a medium sized bowl. Press evenly into the lined pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to slightly cool as you prepare the filling.
3. For the filling: Beat cream cheese, egg, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla extract together with a hand or stand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 3 full minutes. Fold in the chopped Reese's cups and spread the mixture over crust. Bake for 28-32 minutes, or until the cheesecake has set up and the edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool completely in the refrigerator for at least three hours. Lift the foil out of the pan and cut into squares.
4. For the drizzle: Melt the peanut butter and chocolate chips together in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir until smooth and drizzle over squares.

One of my favorite things about summer is fresh fruit. As much as I love chocolate and all other unhealthy foods, if fresh fruit wasn't such a rarity at all times except summer, I'd probably be much healthier (I can say this since it'll never happen). Blueberries work with everything: breads, muffins, pies, pancakes, ice cream, smoothies. What a dynamic little fruit.

Back in the day when I was applying to colleges I saw an essay contest for the North Carolina Blueberry Festival (because apparently I come from a blueberry-loving state) where you could win some sort of scholarship just for writing about blueberries. I remember thinking, seriously...an essay about blueberries? That's it? I LOVE BLUEBERRIES! How could I not win?

Well, procrastinating and never writing the essay is one way. A few months down the road I was talking with a friend of mine who was laughing about how he won a scholarship for writing an essay about blueberries, and that he didn't even like blueberries. Naturally I've been kicking myself ever since. I'll spare you all from my long-overdue essay on blueberries, but I will give you this amazing blueberry muffin recipe.

Blueberry muffins should be bursting with fresh blueberries. The key is not to have a single bite without a blueberry. This recipe takes things up a notch by adding a homemade blueberry jam on top and swirling it around a bit. And just in case you still felt like taking things up even more, you then add a crunchy lemon sugar topping. You can taste the crunch of the sugar, and oh is it good. I added about 1/4 cup extra blueberries to the pan while cooking down the blueberries because I wanted as much blueberry flavor as possible. I doubt that was necessary, but mission accomplished.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

Recipe from The Little Kitchen
Yield: 12 Muffins

Ingredients

Lemon-Sugar Topping:

1/3 cup sugar (2 1/3 ounces)
1 1/2 tsp finely grated zest from 1 lemon

Muffins:

Non-stick cooking or baking spray, I used Baker's Joy
2 cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces), picked over
1 1/8 cups sugar (8 ounces) plus 1 tsp
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
2 large eggs
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

FOR THE TOPPING: Combine sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir. Set aside.

FOR THE MUFFINS: If not already done, move oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray muffin tin with baking spray.

Add 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to a small saucepan at medium heat. Allow to simmer and cook, mash the berries with the back of a spoon until all of the berries are broken down. Stir frequently and cook until mixture is thickened and reduced to about ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and whisk.

To another bowl, add 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs and whisk until thick, about 45 seconds. Whisk in butter and oil slowly, until combined. Then, whisk buttermilk and vanilla in, until combined.

Using rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, fold in egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Do not overmix. The batter will be lumpy and that's fine.)

Using an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop, add batter evenly to each of the muffin cups. The muffin cups will be full. Take one teaspoon of the cooled blueberry jam and add to the top of each mound of batter. Using a chopstick or skewer, swirl the jam into the batter a few times. (Cook's Illustrated says to use figure eight motions.)

Add the lemon-sugar topping evenly over all of the muffins.

Bake the muffins until they are just about gold on top, about 17-19 minutes. Halfway through the baking time, be sure to rotate the muffin tin. Allow muffins to cool in the muffin tin for about 2-3 minutes. Using a butter knife or offset spatula, remove the muffins from the tin and allow them to rest at an angle. Cool for another 5 minutes and place on a cooling rack. Serve with softened butter.
These muffins can be stored in a zippered plastic bag for 2-3 days.

Hypothetical scenario: you are told that you can choose one dessert to make completely calorie-free forevermore. The flavor stays the same, the ingredients stay the same, but suddenly it's healthy for you to eat this dessert. In fact, you can have it to your heart's content knowing that a moment on the lips is no longer forever on the hips. (Yes, these are the sorts of things I think of in my spare time.)

I'd choose milkshakes. I love milkshakes. Love. them. If I ever have a restaurant, it will have amazing hand-spun milkshakes. The kind where you get your regular milkshake and then you get the metal cup with the extra milkshake in it. No one ever really needs the extra, but it's there so you might as well take advantage of it.

Everyone has a different favorite milkshake. Some are the purists, vanilla all the way. Some like the black and white, vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, or just regular chocolate. Then you have the others: strawberry, cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, etc. I'm a chocolate person. I've had so many chocolate milkshakes in my life that it makes it easy to judge whether a place has good milkshakes. If you get something less standard it's harder to judge whether it's the flavor or the milkshake itself that makes it good or bad. My second favorite is cookies and cream...which brings me to this recipe. In the real world, eating milkshakes on a regular basis isn't such a good thing. But there's light at the end of the tunnel, because apparently a delicious, healthy milkshake is not an oxymoron.

I've seen quite a bit of buzz around "banana whip" online. It's just frozen sliced bananas blended up. Somehow it turns into something along the lines of ice cream that shockingly doesn't taste like bananas. Who knew?! One banana doesn't whip into much, so if you wanted a milkshake size of banana whip you'd be eating around four or five bananas. That's a bit excessive. Thank goodness for Sally, who created a way to turn banana whip into a healthy milkshake. You just add skim milk, fat free Cool Whip and reduced fat Oreos. Now I'm not saying this tastes like a hand-spun milkshake, but it's pretty great considering it has maybe 1/10 of the calories. My only suggestion would be to slice the bananas before they are overly ripe. Though very ripe bananas are better for baking because they have more flavor, you don't want the banana flavor to come through in the milkshakes. Cut them in that prime time between when they are green and when they are speckled. You'll barely be able to taste it in the milkshake. Enjoy!

Skinny Cookies and Cream Milkshake

Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 ripe large bananas, peeled, cut into chunks, & frozen
1/4 cup skim milk (or almond or soy)
1/2 cup fat-free frozen whipped topping, such as Cool Whip* (frozen, not thawed, Cool Whip will produce a creamier milkshake)
3 reduced-fat Oreos

Instructions

1. Blend the frozen banana chunks and milk together until thick, creamy, and smooth - about 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the blender as needed.
2. Add the Cool Whip and Oreos and blend for 1 minute. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Notes from Sally:

*Greek yogurt is a wonderful protein-packed replacement for Cool Whip.

I've been on an ice cream kick recently. I like to make at least one container of homemade ice cream every week. It's cheap to make. It can be made ahead. Varieties are endless... What's not to love? Well, the answer is that I make a container of homemade ice cream every week, and I eat a container of homemade ice cream every week (with a little help from my friends). I've determined that I'm a diet-killer for anyone around me. 

A few weeks ago I shared the amazing Double Oreo Ice Cream that I've declared my all-time favorite ice cream. I love the Jeni's bases, so the Oreo layers just really took it over the edge. Since I make that ice cream all the time, I began wondering how I could mix it up in other incredible ways. Then it hit me: Butterfinger Ice Cream. Let me tell you, the Oreo has some stiff competition with this recipe.

The key is to have a candy that can crush up easily and is still very flavorful. Butterfingers are my all time favorite candy. I don't even really know what they are. What is the flavor of a Butterfinger? "Crispety, Crunchety, Peanut Buttery!" ...their tagline is obviously no help. Anyways, I started with the Jeni's ice cream base, infused it with crushed Butterfingers, put the base in the ice cream maker, and then when it came out, layered the Butterfinger base with more crushed Butterfingers. It was crushed Butterfingers, Butterfinger ice cream, crushed Butterfingers, Butterfinger ice cream, etc. 

I'm not sure it's even necessary for me to tell you this was heaven in ice cream form. Every scoop has swirls of Butterfinger combined with the already flavorful, smooth, creamy Butterfinger base. Sorry for being a diet-killer, but you need to make this as soon as possible. And once again, if you don't have an ice cream maker, it's a fantastic investment!

Double Butterfinger Ice Cream

Recipe made using ice cream base technique from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

2 cups whole milk

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 ½ oz. cream cheese softened

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

2/3 cup cane sugar

1/8 cup light corn syrup

3-4 king size Butterfingers (3.7-ounce each) bars or 5-7 regular sized Butterfingers (2.1 ounce)

Crush up all Butterfingers and place in bowl. Butterfingers should crush easily, so you can do this by breaking them up while in the wrappers, or placing in a plastic bag and crushing them in there.

Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. In another large bowl, whisk together cream cheese and salt.  Set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and set aside.

Combine the remaining milk with heavy cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan.  Bring milk mixture to a boil.  Cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves, 4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture through the sieve into the cream cheese. Whisk until smooth.  Place 1/4 cup crushed Butterfinger in the bowl with the hot milk mixture.  Steep for 30 minutes to dissolve candy and impart flavor.  Whisk to incorporate.  Set the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cool.

Chill the mixture thoroughly (at least 4 hours or overnight). Once chilled, whisk ice cream base to break up any remaining candy pieces.  Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Sprinkle a layer of crushed Butterfinger into a plastic container (or other container for ice cream) and lightly spoon a layer of ice cream on top.  Continue to alternate layers of candy and ice cream until the container is full, topping with a sprinkle of candy pieces.

Place plastic or parchment over ice cream (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

I can think of few things better than the smell of something cooking in the crockpot all day. Crockpot Chicken Tacos are by far the most popular recipe on my blog. Besides the fact that they're delicious, there's something to be said for a recipe that only uses three ingredients yet feeds 12. That goes for most crockpot recipes. They're usually pretty straight-forward and feed a crowd. So, you can imagine how excited I get when I find another great crockpot recipe. This is one of those. I may like it even better than the Crockpot Chicken Tacos because it is THAT good. 

Of course I used North Carolina BBQ sauce (Sticky Fingers). I know there are various regional preferences, but this seemed like a given to me. Disclaimer: this is not the vinegar vs. tomato vs. mustard pork BBQ sauce debate. Obviously vinegar-based is where my heart lies on that one. This BBQ sauce is the thicker red sauce that is made for BBQ chicken. I used Sam Adams Summer Ale for the beer portion since I'm a big Sam Adams fan, and I wanted the rest of the six pack for myself.

The chicken is incredibly flavorful and rich with the sauce. I served it in warm kaiser rolls and popped a piece of cheese on top. I'm not big on slaw, but I imagine that would be good for those slaw lovers out there. I added sweet potato fries as a side because...well they're sweet potato fries. Does that even need an explanation?

I really can't imagine anyone not loving this recipe. It will absolutely be one of my new go-to recipes for summer cookouts. It also makes a giant serving so I was eating BBQ beer chicken sandwiches for my lunch for multiple days in a row. Despite eating this for multiple meals within the course of four days, I was still upset when I ate the last serving.

Enjoy!

BBQ Beer Shredded Chicken

Recipe from The Dainty Chef

Ingredients:

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 large)
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup beer (any kind you like)
3-3 1/2 cups of barbecue sauce
Add all the ingredients, other than the chicken into the bowl of a crockpot and stir to combine. Add the chicken and cover with the sauce. Cook on low for about 6 hours.

Directions:

Shred the chicken, and serve on toasted kaiser rolls. Top with cheese or cole slaw.

*Freezer-Friendly Tip* – Freeze extra chicken in ziplock bags to use for pizza, quesadillas and baked potatoes.